News, opinion and commentary

Outlook: Federal aid called vital

Article Abstract:

High-speed rail (HSR) proponents believe more generous federal aid is needed to advance technology and build rail systems. They want a direct-subsidy formula that would match every dollar of state funds with nine dollars of federal money. If budget problems are solved, HSR proponents believe that intermodality, the combination of two or more different technologies, is the future of transportation. This would be achieved through combining HSR systems with existing airports to decongest traffic hubs. Chicago's O'Hare International and Orlando International airports are likely candidates for rail lines, and by tying HSR to airports, airlines would have an interest in contributing to development costs.

Have government "buyouts" of federal workers helped reinvent the federal workforce?

Article Abstract:

A survey of the agencies of the General Accounting Office suggests that government buyouts, authorized by the Federal Workforce Restructuring Act of 1994, have helped federal employees keep their jobs because it helped avoid reduction-in-force (RIF). Avoiding RIFs has been beneficial because it has helped avoid costs. There is concern in the Federal Managers Association that these buyouts are a temporary reprieve and will not achieve the reduction in managers expected by the administration. The administration hopes to reduce 272,900 Civil Service positions by the end of fiscal year 1999.

Would a proposed law requiring that federal regulations be subjected to rigorous risk-assessment and cost-benefit analysis impede environmental protection?

Article Abstract:

The Republican Congress' plan to force all new regulations to undergo risk assessment and cost benefit analysis has stirred debate over the plan's impact on environmental regulation. Proponents say that risk assessment will result in better-targeted and more effective regulation. Opponents point out that the law forbids the creation of regulations that can not be easily assessed in a quantitative manner. This precludes much environmental regulation, where both costs and benefits are often hard to quantify.